These REITs aim for total return

Article Excerpt

DREAM OFFICE REIT $19 (Toronto symbol D.UN; Cyclical-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 108.7 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 7.9%; www.creit.ca) owns and manages 148 office and retail properties in major Canadian cities. Dream Office REIT lowered its monthly distribution by 33.0% with the March 2016 payment, to $0.125 from $0.1867. That reduction was the first step in a strategic plan to push up its unit price. The strategy also includes the sale of non-essential properties worth $1.2 billion in order to realize their full market value. The trust has now sold about $478 million in properties. It has agreements in place for another $330 million. Dream Office will use some of the proceeds to pay down debt, and possibly to buy back units. In the three months ended September 30, 2016, revenue fell 2.1%, to $195.7 million from $201.7 million a year earlier. The trust had 148 properties at the end of…